Reclamation District 479

Reclamation District 479 is located south of Colusa and north of RD 108. The 5,951.97 acre District is almost completely within the Sacramento River West Side Levee District. Reclamation District 479 was formed in 1885.57 Reclamation District 479 covers the southern part of the Mormon Basin, a part of the much larger Colusa Basin. The chief characteristic of these basins is that their edges or rims have been built up by alluvial deposits during flood periods so that the edges are higher than the central portion of the area.

 

A history of Reclamation District 479 is provided by the Colusa County Auditor’s Office as follows:

 

1872-1909: The District did no reclamation work. The District depended on individual landowners to protect their lands.

 

1909: A plan was adopted to construct a levee along Sycamore Slough and Dry Slough to provide flood protection for all land in the District.

 

1915: A plan was adopted for the repair of breaks in the original levee system and its extension along Sycamore Slough. A plan was also adopted for a drainage system for the reclamation of District lands to remove rain and seepage water.

 

1935-1938: A substantial portion of the District was inundated with rain and seepage water which created a considerable expense to dewater the District.

 

1940-1942: A plan for drainage was prepared and adopted in 1942. Due to World War II rationing, only three small pumps could be installed. These pumps had only half the capacity called for by the plan and were adequate only for summer drainage.

 

1942-1943: The District constructed six miles of drainage ditches and a small pumping plant. The ditch system consists of a Main Canal extending about 8,000 feet east of Sycamore Slough and located immediately north of the Grimes Arbuckle Highway. From the east end of the Main Canal, Lateral A extends north for two miles. About one mile below the end of Lateral A, it is joined by Lateral B which extends west about 6,600 feet to cross the Sycamore Slough Road. From the east end of the Main Canal, Lateral C extends southerly for about 4,000 feet. Necessary culverts were installed in each ditch. Only a small length of ditch has been added since the original construction was done. The pumping plant is located just east of the old Sycamore Slough Levee and just north of the Grimes-Arbuckle Highway. It consists of a concrete sump, with provision for four vertical, propeller-type pumps.

 

1958: The US Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt the Sycamore Slough Levee along the east edge of the 2047 Main Drain, which eliminated a portion of the heavy seepage from the 2047 Main Drain.

 

1993: A Groundwater Management Plan was adopted in 1993 to develop a groundwater management program for the groundwater resources within the District to benefit the landowners within the District. Reclamation District 479 is primarily concerned with drain water and makes sure that all of the drain water enters the RD 2047 Canal. A map of RD 479 is shown at the end of this section.